If I have been wrongly charged regarding collecting unemployment, how can I stop this?
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If I have been wrongly charged regarding collecting unemployment, how can I stop this?
About 4 years ago, I collected unemployment in August and part of September. I started working in mid-September. Due to a mistake that an employee at that job made, she told the unemployment office that I started working there at the beginning of September, while I was collecting unemployment, which was incorrect. The GA Dept. of Labor has been taking my tax returns every year since then. I have sent them proof that I did not work there or get paid during the times that they thought I did. However, they will not listen to me and this continues to happen every year. I know that I do not owe the GA Dept. of Labor any money. How can I fix this?
Asked on October 8, 2018 under Employment Labor Law, Georgia
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 5 years ago | Contributor
There is no good way to resolve this. If a government agency makes a mistake and will not voluntarily correct it, you could file a lawsuit in county court seeking a "declaratory judgment" or binding court determination that you do not owe the money; in the lawsuit, you would provide your evidence of when you started working, and if the court agreed, it could officially determine what your state date had been and that you do not owe the unemployment back.
But suing a government agency is much more complex than, say, a small claims case; and seeking a declaratory judgment increases the procedural complexity. This could be a very difficult case for a nonlawyer without and attorney, but it almost certainly would not be cost effective to hire and pay for an attorney. It may be best to repay the money.
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